John Galliano: The Resurrection

Just finished watching the interview with John Galliano on Charlie Rose and wanted to share my response. I was glad to finally see and hear him admit— what I had been saying from the start—that he was in a blackout and had no recollection of the incident in Paris spewing those horrendous anti-Semitic remarks. Sure, people will accuse John Galliano of copping out for laying the blame on being in a black out, but those who do are simply not black out drunks. There is a gigantic difference between being fucked up and being in a black out versus being a black out drunk.

Granted, being in a black out does not excuse him—or anyone—from the harm and damage these incidents cause. What about the collateral damage caused by black out drunks that get behind the wheel and… need I finish that sentence? There was a case in Florida where a mother forgave the drunk driver who killed her daughter and requested that the judge reduce his prison sentence because forgiveness was crucial to her healing process. At the end of the day, that’s what is at stake here. Not whether John Galliano will get to design dresses again, rather, how we as a society move forward in all cases of unintended injustices. I mean, who goes through life unscathed?

As for the interview, John was humble, believable and gut wrenchingly honest. Those who have turned their backs on him need to at least hear him out. If every thief and murderer gets their day in court, so too can John Galliano have a platform and opportunity to make amends for his mistakes. Should he have done a sit down interview sooner? Perhaps, but who am I—we— to judge anyone’s process? Much of the conversation centered on John Galliano’s ongoing relationship to sobriety, which at the end of the day is nothing new or all that riveting. I do like the choice of Charlie Rose for his first sit down interview. Surely Oprah must have been chomping at the bit, as was Katie, Matt and Diane but Charlie Rose got the get. The austere, dark set set the stage and the tone for what John Galliano is doing, which is to start the resurrection. We all have our cross to bear and the time has come to cut John Galliano loose from the one he was nailed to.

There’s a quote that I love, “Those who sit in judgment shall not judge.”